LAZY SATURDAY

Today is cold and dreary here in Springfield, Ohio! Not much going on today due to all the errands and grocery shopping we did yesterday. Why is it running around all day makes you more tired than if you worked 8 hours? We did shop for the whole month of February so I guess once we get on the road we'll be shopping more often. Most RV refrigerators unless you have one of the new double refrigerators we saw at the Dayton RV Show, don't hold much, and the freezer section is even smaller. It was suggested to me in RV Dreams chat that one of the things you can do is to shrink wrap everything, and then the food doesn't take up so much room. I will be checking this option out to see about the cost, weight, and how much space one of these units will take up in the fifth wheel. I'll keep ya posted on the progress with that. Sounds like it could be a good idea though. Most of the chatters I talked to said they shop once or twice a week. Wow will be alot of changes to get used to, once we're on the road! Then again I think we should be living at a more relaxed pace than we do now with the kids and grandkids running in and out, doctor appointments, and so on!

NEW TIRES AND FIFTH WHEEL HITCH:
Before we go on the road, we have to get 6 new tires for our truck! In the days of oxen pulled wagons they had to have food and water for their oxen, so I guess having to put tires on every once in a while is comparable. We want to start out with brand new tires just for peace of mind. When we bought the truck it had pretty good tires on it so we want to wait until the last minute
before we leave to have new ones put on.
When we bought our fifth wheel, we bought the hitch at the same time. So we need to make an appointment to get our hitch installed in the back of the truck, before we can even pick up our new fifth wheel! There is a lot to be done and it seems to be taking forever, perhaps I'm getting a little inpatient to get our trailer picked up, and start putting things into it! This last stage before getting on the road feels like its going to last forever! Then there is so much we still need to buy before we can go. The internet and tv options are so confusing it can scare you to even make a decision!

Time To Get Organized!

We are in a unique situation here. Our Son is buying the house off of us, so I really don't have to pack up all our things. We will have the use of the garage for storage and our bedroom anytime we want when we are near, so I only have to sort and pack the things we either want to store, or take with us. I do have to empty out all the other bedrooms of extra stuff so he can spread out a bit. Then too some of the things I have he doesn't want to use,because he has his own.

THE WORST ONE OF ALL:
The bedroom that I use for my sewing and craft room is packed full of my little goodies! I had already separated things into plastic bins so it will be a little easier, but I have been dreading doing it. So here goes!

SEWING:
First all my sewing patterns I have decided will stay here, so that wasn't hard. Out to the garage they go in plastic tubs. But that is only a small part of all the stuff in the room. I want to take some of my quilting material and gadgets, cutting wheels etc... with me in the 5ER so, I will have to separate the colors, pack my sewing machine and serger. Then it can go in the one tub I have marked for hobbies to take on the road with me.

YARN:
Then there is my yarn, crochet hooks and directions. I will have to pick a few colors and use them and replace them on the road when I run out, because even though yarn doesn't weigh much it does take up space, and there wouldn't be room for it all! It would fill up the whole closet in the bedroom of the 5er! I keep telling myself that I'm not saying goodbye to all my stuff I still get to keep it! Most of my craft things will stay here in the garage too. I condensed two tubs into one and threw a bunch of misc things away. The more I throw away the more room we'll have in the garage to store some of the furniture and nick knacks I want to pack away for safety because they are breakable.

FLORAL:
Next are my floral supplies, and I think I will just take my wire cutters, wire, and floral tape. The silk flowers I can buy on the road if I want the make a wreath or arrangement for someone. I do silk wedding bouquets, corsages and all kinds of arrangements, but I doubt I will be making wedding things on the road! LOL! Ya never know when an opportunity to make money on the road will present itself at a kraft show or flea market!


I can see this is going to take more than one day, because I have only done 1/3 of the stuff and, I haven't even started on the crafts! What a fantastic craft and sewing room it has been,with everything I need from paint brushes, paint, glitter, thread etc... at my fingertips! I never dreamed I'd be packing most of it away, but I am always up for an adventure, and I think this will be a most excellent one! It will also be interesting to see what I can do without! At least I'm doing all this while it's cold outside so come spring it will all be done and we'll be ready to roll!
Hurry up spring!

Sassy's Schooner Saga - RVing the Modern Way!

Just like the pioneers with their Prairie Schooner covered wagons and oxen, modern man hasn't lost his urge to wander, and look for a better life! This is the reason for my title. Although unlike the pioneers who had great hardships on their journeys, modern man has found a better and easier way to go than wagons and oxen. The RV or recreational vehicle! All the conveniences of home go with you, no roughing it like the pioneers for modern man! So this begins the story of our journey.

FIRST A BIT ABOUT US....
Mike and I have been married for 35 years and Mike retired from 20 years in the Air Force, and then retired from 20 years working as a contractor on Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Sassy is my nickname because sometimes I am! LOL! Kris is my name, and I retired in 2000 after running a home day care for 17 1/2 years. I have done many jobs but doing child day care was my favorite.

We raised 3 sons during that time and 2 of them are married and have children, and the youngest is getting married at the end of 2008. He is buying our house! We have three granddaughter's ages 8, 6, and 4.

WEEKEND RV'ERS:
We have been weekend rv'ers for 25 years! We camped at various state parks in Ohio over the years. Then we had a spot in a private campground on beautiful Indian Lake, near Lima, Ohio for 20 years.

We started out in an 18' Shasta trailer which tended to get even smaller when it rained, with 3 small boys! Next we got a bunkhouse trailer with 3 bunks in the back that lasted until the boys became teenagers, and no longer wanted to be seen with parents anymore!
So we sold the bunkhouse and bought a used 5th wheel, and so began our love affair with the 5er! In 2005, we gave up our campsite and sold the 5er, but kept our 22' pontoon boat. We wanted to see if we missed boating, because we had decided we wanted to go full time in 3 years and didn't want a motorhome so we could tow the boat. Funny how you can go boating for years, then give it up and, you don't even miss it!

RESEARCH:
For the last 3 years we have gone to just about every RV show we could find in the state of Ohio! We have also searched the Web and, that's where we found out about the RV Dreams website!
We knew we wanted a 5er and a truck for our full time travel. I need to backtrack a little in order to go forward with our story, so please be patient with me, I haven't quite got the feel for this blog thing yet!

SERIOUS BLOW:
In July of 2007 we are dealt a serious blow to our plans! Mike has been diagnosed with prostate cancer! We find out it is in the early stages and is slow growing. He will have his prostate taken out in September 2007! All through this, we didn't know what was going to happen to our dream of going full time! Two weeks before Mike's surgery we find THE TRUCK!

THE TRUCK:
We decide to think positive and to go ahead and buy it! We got a 2001, Dodge 3500 dually with a V10 in it, and only 40,000 miles on it! Finding this truck renews our dream and we feel like it was meant to be! We decide we're not going to let the cancer interfere with our dream! Our motto became: "Hold On Tight To Your Dreams!" Mike had his surgery and by December 2007, he is fully recovered! We find out in December that they got all the cancer too! We put our pontoon boat up for sale and it sells the first week of January 2008! We now have a good down payment for our 5er! We decide to go to one more RV show and see if there is anything we like better. Now, on we go now to find a 5er!

CHANGE OF MIND:
In January of the new year we go to the Dayton, Ohio RV Show. We finally see one we like as well as the Titanium, that we had decided we were going to try for. It is also just a little more than the used Titanium we were going to buy. The Titanium was still our first choice, but we can't afford a new one, over $70,000. We can afford a brand new 2008 model of the one we like at the RV show.

WE BUY OUR 5ER:
So on January 18th, 2008, we signed the papers on our new Cedar Creek Sliverback 5th wheel!
We chose the model 30LSA with a rear entertainment center! Reason being that most of the time we went to RV parks we always had another trailer behind us so we had no view anyway! Our 5er is 34'7" and has 3 slides, and is just right for the two of us! We now have our version of the oxen (our truck) and our schooner covered wagon (our Silverback 5th Wheel.) This modern day pioneer couple are ready for the trail!!!!! Wagons Ho!! We are now ready to realize our dream! WOO HOO!!

Please stay tuned for the next part:
Packing, what to take, and what to leave behind!